Posts BySusan Engebretson – PorchDrinking.com

Since the risks I took at my local liquor store’s “you pick-6 section” did not pay off, I opened my fridge and saw Victory’s Golden Monkey and thought, “No way someone from PorchDrinking.com has not written a showcase on this beer.” Yet a short search later revealed that this monster of a beer has not yet been reviewed by a PorchDrinking writer.

While I do not have that one beer that got me into craft beer, Golden Monkey was one of a handful of beers that I had during my early days, that showed me how crazy delicious beer can be. So I happily cracked a freshly packaged can, poured it into my favorite tulip and settled in to write this review.

With the weather in Denver finally beginning to think about becoming cold, I wanted to take the time to review one of my favorite local beers to share with friends and family in front of the fire. I remember being introduced to this beer during a weekly Friday-morning meeting. I was listening to a brewery talk about a new specialty release, and, since we were not allowed to talk during presentations, a new message appeared on my computer screen from the coworker sitting next to me. It read, “that is one of the few beer names that I am upset that I did not come up with first.” The brewery was River North, and the beer was Nightmare Fuel.Read More

In Minnesota, the phrase “heading up north to the cabin” and its many variations are uttered constantly between June and September. Most families pack up and drive to a cabin two to five hours away from the Twin Cities. My family takes this concept just a bit further, though – eight hours north farther, into Canada. While on our way, we pass through Duluth, Minnesota, the home of Bent Paddle Brewing Company. My retired parents now spend May through September in Northwestern Ontario and a six-pack or two of Bent Paddle’s Lollygagger Pale Ale is always in the fridge while my siblings and I visit during the last week of July.